As everyone knows, 2001 was the last summer that Chalk Hills was open. Girl Scouts of the Fox River Area made a decision that with the new federal licenses for the two dams being issued, and the new restrictions that were placed on all of the licensed lands (by agreement with the State Historic Preservation Office) that it was in the best interest of the future of the resident camp program not to be encumbered with the license restrictions. Since then, the resident camp program has been held at Camp Birch Trails (located outside Irma, north of Wausau.) As a last goodbye to Chalk Hills, there was a special GROG in July 2001, with many past staff coming from all over. There was a lot of laughing, singing, crying, and saying farewell to a place that has touched all our hearts. The good news is that the summers at Camp Birch Trails have been wonderful. Attendance is great, and the campers and staff enjoyed the summers. While it will never be Chalk Hills, the site is beautiful, and the Chalk Hills program is continuing there.
In the summer of 2003 and again in 2008 and 2012, GROG was held at Camp Birch Trails. What wonderful weekends. Even though the location changed, the people didn't. Once again, the magic of the Chalk Hills spirit was there. There were staff there who hadn't been together for many years (and who wants to even think about how many years it has been since the first GROG!), yet everyone just jumped right back into camp and friendships as no time had passed. And then there was the singing. There is no other group of people on earth that it just feels so right to be together with and to sing with. There has even been a Norway mini-GROG and an Alaska mini-GROG along with another Norway mini-GROG for the summer of 2014. I know I am not alone in counting down the days until the next GROG, coming the weekend of July 8-10, 2016. -Aja
